A Catania mafia clan was
planning to kill journalist Paolo Borrometi to stop his probes
into their affairs, a judge said Tuesday.
Borrometi, director of the Spia.it website, was described as
an "awkward journalist," preliminary investigations judge
Giuliana Sammartino said in a warrant that led to the arrest of
four people for a dynamite attack on the car of lawyer Adriana
Quattropani.
The Cappello clan was planning to kill Borrometi at the
request of Siracusa boss Salvatore Giuliano, Sammartino wrote in
the ordinance.
Borrometi has been living under police escort since receiving
mafia death threats.
Giuliano was caught on a police wiretap in January asking for
Borrometi to be murdered, sources said.
In response, Capello clan member Giuseppe Vizzini was caught
on another wiretap on February 20 saying in Sicilian dialect
that the journalist "hasn't got long to live".
Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni spoke to the journalist on
Tuesday afternoon, voicing solidarity and support with
Borrometi.
He said the State was close to him in the daily fight against
the mafia and for freedom of information.
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